“Better than Chickpea Hummus” CREAMY Lentil Hummus

From Albert Bevia:
This creamy lentil hummus is possibly the best hummus I have ever tasted. We’re talking layer upon layer of so many great flavors, easy to make, and all done using humble everyday ingredients. Serve it as a tapas appetizer next to some pita bread and marinated olives for the best moment in your day.

TIPS & TRICKS to make this Recipe: What really flavors this hummus, besides the lentils, is the extra virgin olive oil and tahini paste. If you can’t find tahini paste in your area. You can substitute it for the same amount of creamy peanut butter.

“Better than Chickpea Hummus” CREAMY Lentil Hummus

Watch Albert preparing this recipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPpCu0W0ypk

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup dried green lentils 95 grams
  • 2 cups water 480 ml
  • 3 tbsp tahini paste 45 grams
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1.50 grams
  • 1/4 tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika .65 grams
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 30 ml
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp water 30 ml
  • sea salt & black pepper
  • chopped cilantro and olive oil for garnish

Instructions

  1. Add the dried lentils into a fine sieve and rinse under water, then add the lentils into a saucepan, along with 2 cups water (480 ml), and heat with a high heat, once it comes to a boil, place a lid on the saucepan and lower to a low heat
  2. Once the lentils are just cooked through (check package instructions on the lentils you are using, my took about 15 to 20 minutes), remove the pan from the heat, drain the lentils in a colander and rinse under cold water, then shake off any excess water, reserve a spoonful of the lentils for garnish
  3. Transfer the lentils into a food processor, run the food processor for about 1 minute or until the lentils are well blended, making sure to scrape down on the sides at the half way point, then add in the tahini paste, garlic, cumin, paprika, olive oil, lemon juice, and season with salt & pepper, run the food procesoor for another 1 to 2 minutes or until all the ingredients are well blended
  4. Once the ingredients are well blended, with the motor still running, add in between 1 to 2 tbsp of water (15 to 30 ml) or until you get the desired creamy texture
  5. Transfer the hummus into a shallow bowl, using the back of a spoon create curves on the hummus, then garnish with the reserved lentils, a drizzle of olive oil, and some chopped cilantro, serve at room temperature or chilled, enjoy!

Olive Oil Fraud in Italy

Italy intensified its efforts against food fraud in 2024 by focusing heavily on olive oil. The Italian Inspectorate for Quality and Fraud Prevention (ICQRF) conducted over 8,200 inspections targeting vegetable oils out of a total of 54,000 food inspections. These checks included samples of extra virgin olive oil, with 23% of them revealing irregularities—such as discrepancies between product labels and actual contents. The operation resulted in 72 criminal reports, 896 administrative penalties, 843 formal warnings, and the seizure of 455,000 kg of non-compliant olive oil, worth more than €4 million (oliveoiltimes.com).

This initiative leverages Italy’s national digital olive oil registry (RTO), real-time monitoring, and a specialized enforcement unit to track and prevent fraud. In 2023, actions included uncovering mismatches between physical inventories and digital records in Veneto, intercepting schemes in Umbria and Tuscany that repackaged seed or lampante oils as premium Italian extra virgin, and halting sales of mislabeled products—like €230,000 worth of non-Taggiasca oil sold as authentic in Liguria. The program even led to cross-border interventions, such as seizing nearly 92 tons of misbranded vegetable oil at Italy’s border with France. (oliveoiltimes.com)

If this much was caught how much gets through?